Apr. 4—The match was over quickly.
Twenty-one-year-old Jasmine Robinson grappled a hold of her opponent, briefly struggled in twists around the mat, then tackled her into a pin.
It was an early round Friday in the USA Wrestling Women's National Championships hosted at the Podium this weekend.
"The competition level should get harder, but if I stick with my training and what my coaches tell me, it should be a pretty easy ride," said Robinson, the reigning U20 world champion.
Robinson is one of more than 1,800 women and girls from 8-and-under youth divisions to elite athletes competing in the tournament — a new participation record for the growing sport's top event.
As a private in the U.S. Army, Robinson is a member of the World Class Athlete Program, where her temporary full-time job is wrestling. She won national titles in both U20 and U23 divisions last year in Spokane.
Robinson started out in gymnastics but was jealous of her older brother's wrestling trophies.
"In wrestling, you win really big trophies and really cool prizes, and in gymnastics you only win ribbons," she said. "I was complaining to my mom, I want a trophy, I don't want a ribbon anymore."
Her mom said no, but she snuck around and signed herself up anyway when she was in middle school. The sport has grown a lot since then.
When the championship used to be hosted in Texas, where Robinson is from, she remembers it was much smaller.
"You would walk around the room and wouldn't touch anybody, now you walk around here, you're going to bump shoulders with at least five people on the way. It's amazing how fast women's wrestling is growing and how big we are."
The Podium contained the organized chaos with 13 mats spread across the arena floor.
Pete Isais, director of national events for USA Wrestling, said the Podium is an ideal venue.
"The way they can segregate the fans from the athletes, that's tremendous," he said. "Great facility; we just love the layout here."
This is the third year of a four-year contract between USA Wrestling and the Spokane Sports Commission.
Cherie Gwinn, senior director of events for the commission, said she hopes to add another year.
"This has been instrumental for us to continue the growth of mat sports here," she said.
The commission is putting out bids to host other martial arts like judo and tae kwon do.
The Podium also hosts two other major wrestling events: the Washington State Wrestling Association's boys and girls freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments over the first weekend in May, and another USA Wrestling event in November called the Northwest Bigfoot Battle.
This weekend's tournament is also a qualifier for the national world team.
Isais said the sport is growing because more high schools are building teams as it becomes sanctioned in more states. College programs are growing too.
Jenna Beddow, a senior at McKendree University in Illinois, had a bruise on her cheek and a grin on her lips after her first match.
"I'm feeling good," she said.
From Buckley, Washington, on the West Side, Beddow started wrestling when she was a sophomore in high school. A concussion during her junior year took her off the mat for several years, but she was eager to return to the sport with the encouragement of fellow Washingtonian Alexio Garcia, who took over coaching at McKendree.
Beddow said it is nice being back in Washington and seeing all her old wrestling friends.
"I just love being out here," she said.
The competition continues Saturday and wraps up with the youngest divisions Sunday.
James Hanlon's reporting for The Spokesman-Review is ...
